Parents arrested for infant’s fatal overdose

DANVILLE, Va. (WFXR) — A man and woman are behind bars for the death of their infant daughter back in November.

Officers were called to Maple Grove Avenue for an unresponsive infant where they found Eugene Chandler holding the child.

The infant was transported to SOVAH Health after officers attempted CPR, but the infant died.

Autopsy results showed the two-month-old girl died due to an “Acute heroin and cocaine intoxication in a setting of co-sleeping.”

Eugene Chandler and Shaleigh Brumfield were both indicted by a grand jury for felony homicide and abuse and neglect of a child on Monday and arrested Tuesday.

The arrests came seven months after baby Marleigh Chandler’s death. Police say there were no obvious signs of trauma so they had to wait on the toxicology results in order to determine her cause of death.

“Those results, it’s not like television. They take time,” said Lieutenant Richard Chivvis. “It’s a lot of work with the autopsy with the medical examiner and then after that’s done, a lot of work with the commonwealth attorney’s office for them to ultimately determine a charging decision.”

Francis Burger, who lived across the street at the time of the baby’s death says he saw the parent’s arrest coming.

“When the baby died it was a wild neighborhood. They used drugs in that house,” Burger said.

Other neighbors like Sheila Richardson says there were a lot of people coming in and out of the home.

“There was a lot of traffic and I would not have had a small child there,” said Richardson. “It’s sad. It’s so sad. I feel so sorry for that baby.”

Neighbors and police both agree that the case is disturbing.

“Think about the officers who responded and held the baby while they performed CPR. So I mean it’s traumatic,” Lt. Chivvis said.

A trial date has not been set at this time. According to online court records, Chandler and Brumfield are set to be in court in August.

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